March 2, 2019 • 9:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M.
We do Chili right on St. George Island!
I am already thinking about the St. George Island Chili Cook-off. I have competed every year since 2013 but have never won (well I did win the best local chili category one year)! Because practice makes perfect, I am going to start to work on my recipe and improve it for the 2019 competition. Even though we have not won, we have had great fun. My children often come to help, and two of the kids even entered as well last year.
I won’t share my improvements to this recipe until after the competition in March, but I welcome your suggestions for improvement. I will say that I don’t think the judges like the addition of the port wine to deglaze the meat, so consider it gone! Here is my basic recipe:
Make the chili powders:
Bake the chilies at 275° for 15-25 minutes depending on size – Arbol bakes more quickly. De-stem, deseed and blend them with cumin in a blender until you get a fine powder.
1st dump:
3 oz. bag Ancho ½ 3oz bag Arbol
½ 3 oz. bag Guajillo 3 oz. bag New Mexico
3 oz. bag Pasilla 1 oz. of cumin seeds
2nd dump:
½ 3 oz. bag Arbol
½ 3 oz. bag Guajillo
1 oz. cumin seeds
Start the sauce:
1 large can chopped tomatoes
3 regular cans tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 can mild Rotel tomatoes and chilis
½ box beef broth
1 tbsp. brown sugar
3 large bay leaves
1½ tbsp. Better Than Bouillon (chicken flavor)
3-5 jalapenos, chopped extra fine
3- 4 tbsp. 1st dump homemade chili powder
More than 1/8 cup but less than 1/4 cup commercial chili powder
(Ratio of homemade chili powder to commercial is 1 to 4)
Brown meat, onions, and garlic:
Salt and pepper 5 lbs. of course ground chuck and 1 lb. ground pork seasoned with adobe, brown in Crisco in small batches quickly on high, drain and dump into sauce.
Salt and pepper 2 large onions seasoned with black truffle sauce, brown in 3 tbsp. butter, add 5 cloves garlic for 1-2 minutes, turn on high, add 1/4 cup good tawny port and cook until almost evaporated, and dump into sauce.
Cook for 2 hours, add 1 tbsp. of 2nd dump – if needed, add a little more chicken bouillon and Louisiana hot sauce
Be sure to look for us at the next St. George Island Regional Charity Chili Cook-off & Auction on March 2, 2019. If you’d like to compete with your own chili, rules and the entry form can be found at www.stgeorgeislandchilicookoff.com. 
Cathie Korfanty, Broker
Apalachicola Bay Realty
